Human remains find forces delay at flats site

The discovery of human remains on a construction site is "unusual but not unheard of", the developers say.

Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital & Centric, explained work had to stop on the Midway car park site in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, as a police investigation continues.

"It feels as though it might be a temporary delay of a few weeks in that part of the project," Heatley said, adding work had resumed on the upper levels of the car park.

His company is transforming the site into 111 flats, one of three significant regeneration projects in the town.

There had been a church and cemetery on the site in the past, but it was not yet known whether this was linked to Thursday's discovery, Heatley said.

He added it was the first time he had come across the issue in his career, but he had heard of other instances.

Heatley said crews had been working at a level below the existing car park, where they planned to install water tanks to cope with heavy rainfall, when they made the discovery.

"As we've gone deeper underground than some of the existing structure and foundations, we've discovered some human remains," he said.

The skeletal remains were founds in a void beneath the car park, in an area that was not typically accessible, he said.

Staffordshire Police said officers were alerted to the skeletal remains at about 13:30 BST on Wednesday.

"The upper floors aren't affected," Heatley told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We've been able to recommence those works while police and forensics and anthropologists do their work on establishing the age of the bones and the likely cause of why they're there, and how long they've been there for and perhaps the cause of death."

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